The Thai rulers find it difficult to criticize. In difficult times, the stimulus threshold drops. Even the king in distant Germany has to experience that.
the Thai holiday paradises by the sea and in the north of the kingdom. The number of retirees who overwinter there or have settled there has also increased steadily in recent years. In Corona year 2020 everything is different: the flow of tourists, 41 million last year, has dried up, the stranded are waiting for evacuations, and even the sedentary foreigners are getting nervous. Social networks are currently full of warnings that things will change in Thailand.
The changes include an entry ban for foreigners, countless official questionnaires for visa extensions and a no night out. The new reality also includes tighter surveillance of citizens, for example on the Internet. Related to this is the threat of the law, such as the Computer Crime Act of 2017, which not only punishes fake news but also serves to silence unpleasant voices.
The Bangkok watchdogs are currently busy. Social networks are not only questioning the government’s reaction to the epidemic. The role of the king in this crisis is also discussed. The hashtag #whydoweneedaking? (Why do we need a king?) Was typically created abroad a few days ago. But he quickly turned out to be on Twitter one of the most noticed topics. Among other things, the question was whether it is appropriate for King Maha Vajiralongkorn to reside abroad with full entourage in such difficult times. Anyone who criticizes the monarchy in Thailand can expect to be imprisoned for up to 15 years. That scares them off, so things won’t get out of hand.
But it is not the first time that the 67-year-old has started talking – a bit more frankly abroad than in his home country. Thailand is facing economically catastrophic times that could soon reach the magnitude of the 1998 Asian crisis. Rulers are on guard everywhere.
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